I have been a recreational sailor for many years, with a particular interest in small sailing craft; therefore much of the content of my 'blog' will be related to this subject.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Sterling 28 Yacht designed by C. R. ‘Kim’ Holman

'Rosa Ryal' - a Sterling 28

Yesterday, thanks to Patrick, I discovered that ‘Rosa Ryal’
is a Kim Holman 28’ pocket cruiser. She’s in pretty good shape for a wooden boat
built in 1961. Kim’s own Sterling 28 is for sale at Wooden Ships. (See link
below.) Altogether 19 of these yachts were built at Upham’s Yard at Brixham,
Devon.

Sadly, Kim Holman died at the age of 44, but not before
designing many long-keeled yachts, including the Twister, believed by him to be
his best, and the popular East Coast cruiser/racer, the Stella. A few of these
wooden, clinker yachts can still be found on the River Crouch. I
can remember when there was a fair-sized flotella of them that raced at Burnham
on Wednesday evenings for the summer series.

There’s a Classic Boat Magazine article below that gives an
in-depth account of Kim’s life, the boats he sailed, and the yachts he designed.
(See second link.) This is well worth reading.